MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) made a just decision by satisfying the appeals of 28 Russian athletes against life suspensions from the Olympic Games, said Alexander Zhukov, President of the Russian Olympic Committee.
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On Thursday, CAS satisfied the appeals of 28 Russian athletes who had been barred for life from the Olympics by a ruling from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Life bans for another 11 athletes were replaced by access to the 2018 Games. The titles earned by the exonerated athletes at the Sochi Games were restored.
"We were sure of our athletes’ innocence all along," Zhukov said. "The court of arbitration backed our guys and made a just decision by confirming their innocence. We are happy that they have gotten back their just rewards and that the charges against them have been dropped. However, we still have to thoroughly analyze the situation and look into the court’s decision."
Following the CAS’s positive ruling, the 28 athletes will be listed as participants of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang that is scheduled for February 9-25.